Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 22 of 2012

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2012L02336 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination

No. 22 of 2012

 

Information provided by life insurers and friendly societies under certain reporting standards

 

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act)

 

The purpose of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 22 of 2012 (Determination No. 22) made on 30 November 2012 is to enable APRA to disclose, by way of publication, certain information provided by life insurers and friendly societies to APRA contained in documents lodged quarterly and annually under s 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (Collection of Data Act). The publication of the information would otherwise give rise to an offence under s 56(2) of the APRA Act.

Publishing this information should assist regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers, analysts and other interested parties in performing their functions and duties and enable them to better to understand the life insurance industry.

Determination No. 22 made on 30 November 2012 covers annual and quarterly reporting documents provided to APRA on or after 16 November 2012 and before the date of Determination No. 22.

Legislative background

Subsection 56(5C) of the APRA Act provides that it is not an offence against s 56(2) of that Act to disclose information in a reporting document given to APRA under s 13 of the Collection of Data Act where APRA has determined, under s 57, that the document does not contain confidential information.

Section 57 of the APRA Act gives APRA power to determine whether a document given under s 13 of the Collection of Data Act contains confidential information.  The section provides that before doing so APRA must give relevant entities or bodies, or their representative association, a reasonable opportunity to make representations as to whether information of the kind contained in the document is confidential, and APRA must take such representations into account before making such a determination. 

Information covered by the determination 

Determination No. 22 provides that the reporting documents (quarterly and annual returns) described in the Appendix to this Explanatory Statement, given to APRA prior to the date of Determination No. 22 under the reporting standards listed in the Appendix (being reporting standards made under s 13 of the Collection of Data Act) are not confidential.  Determination No. 22 applies to all life insurers and friendly societies.

Consultation

November 2009

 

In accordance with s 57 of the APRA Act, APRA issued a discussion paper and wrote to all life insurers and friendly societies on 6 November 2009, requesting comment on what data collected in the life insurance and friendly society quarterly and annual forms could be released publicly. APRA also sought comment on the proposed content and format of both aggregated and entity level data tables contained within two proposed new publications, the Half Yearly Life Insurance Bulletin and the Annual Friendly Society Bulletin.

 

APRA received 7 responses to the consultation. IFSA provided a response on behalf of life insurers and Abacus on behalf of friendly societies. There were 4 responses from individual life insurers and 1 from an individual friendly society.

 

A number of the responses expressly stated that product level data for individual life insurers and friendly societies should not be disclosed as it was considered to be commercially sensitive information and could lead to adverse effects on pricing for some products. There were no other objections raised by life insurers to data that APRA proposed to release.

 

The response received from Abacus expressed support for the publication of data that provides a snapshot of the friendly society sector but only if the data did not identify individual entities directly or indirectly.

 

After taking into account the views expressed in the consultations, APRA considers that Determination No. 22 establishes an appropriate balance between on the one hand protecting each life insurer and friendly society’s commercially sensitive information from inappropriate disclosure and on the other hand pursuing the public interest in releasing data relating to the life insurance and friendly society industries in Australia.

 

Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

The legislative instrument the subject of this explanatory statement does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. Accordingly, in APRA’s assessment, this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights.

 


Appendix

 

Determination No. 22 covers items of data described below in Part 1.

 

Part 1 – description of the documents covered by Determination No. 22

 

Data items as indicated from reporting documents given to APRA by life insurers and friendly societies under the following reporting standards (effective for reporting periods after 1 October 2009) made under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data Act) 2001:

 

Reporting Standards for Life Insurers and Friendly Societies:

 

  • LRS 100.0 Solvency (all data in form)
  • LRS 120.0 Management Capital (all data in form)
  • LRS 210.0 Derivatives, Commitments and Off-Balance Sheet Items (all data in form)
  • LRS 300.0 Statement of Financial Position (all data in forms)
  • LRS 310.0 Statement of Financial Performance (all data in forms)
  • LRS 330.0 Summary of Revenue and Expenses (all data in form except product level data)
  • LRS 340.0 Retained Profits (all data in forms)
  • LRS 400.0 Statement of Policy Liabilities (all data in form except product level data)
  • LRS 420.0 Asset Backing Policy Liabilities (all data in form except product level data)
  • LRS 430.0 Sources of Profit (all data in form except product level data)
     

Overview

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 22 of 2012 was enacted on 30 November 2012 under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998. The primary purpose of this determination is to enable the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to disclose certain information provided by life insurers and friendly societies, which would otherwise be considered confidential and subject to an offence under section 56(2) of the APRA Act. This disclosure is intended to facilitate transparency and enable regulators, policymakers, industry participants, researchers, analysts, and other stakeholders to better understand the life insurance industry. This determination applies to information contained in documents lodged with APRA under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, specifically covering annual and quarterly reporting documents submitted after 16 November 2012. The enactment of this determination by APRA followed a consultation process that allowed relevant entities to provide input on the proposed data to be disclosed publicly. APRA received feedback from various stakeholders, including the Insurance and Superannuation Federation of Australia, Abacus on behalf of friendly societies, and individual life insurers and friendly societies. While some stakeholders expressed concerns about the potential commercial sensitivity of certain data, APRA determined that the determination strikes an appropriate balance between protecting commercially sensitive information and promoting the public interest in data transparency. The determination is deemed compatible with human rights as it does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 22 of 2012 applies to all life insurers and friendly societies in Australia, regulating the disclosure of specific financial and operational data provided to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001. This determination was made to allow APRA to publish certain information contained in quarterly and annual reporting documents, which would otherwise constitute an offence under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998. The primary aim is to facilitate better understanding of the life insurance industry among regulators, policymakers, industry participants, researchers, analysts, and other interested parties. The determination covers reporting documents submitted to APRA after 16 November 2012, with specific exclusions to protect commercially sensitive information, particularly at the product level for individual entities. APRA consulted with industry stakeholders in 2009 to gather feedback on the types of data to be released publicly, ensuring a balance between disclosure and confidentiality. The determination extends its application through subordinate instruments, specifically targeting the reporting standards listed in the appendix, which detail the specific data items covered by the determination.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 22 of 2012 (Determination No. 22) primarily addresses the disclosure of certain information provided by life insurers and friendly societies to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under specific reporting standards. According to section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (Collection of Data Act), this information, if published, would otherwise constitute an offence under section 56(2) of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act). Determination No. 22 aims to facilitate the disclosure of this information by APRA to assist regulators, policymakers, industry stakeholders, researchers, and analysts in understanding the life insurance industry better (subsection 56(5C) of the APRA Act). The determination applies to annual and quarterly reporting documents provided to APRA on or after 16 November 2012 and before the date of Determination No. 22. APRA has been empowered under section 57 of the APRA Act to determine whether a document given under section 13 of the Collection of Data Act contains confidential information. Before making such a determination, APRA must provide relevant entities or bodies, or their representative associations, with a reasonable opportunity to make representations. These representations must then be taken into account by APRA before it decides whether the document contains confidential information. Determination No. 22 specifies that the reporting documents (quarterly and annual returns) described in the Appendix to this Explanatory Statement, given to APRA prior to the date of Determination No. 22 under the reporting standards listed in the Appendix, are not confidential (section 57 of the APRA Act). The obligations imposed on the parties governed by this determination include the requirement for life insurers and friendly societies to provide APRA with the specified reporting documents under the outlined reporting standards. APRA, in turn, must consider any representations made by relevant entities or their associations before determining whether the information contained in these documents is confidential. The determination itself establishes a framework for the disclosure of certain non-confidential information, ensuring a balance between protecting commercially sensitive information and promoting transparency and understanding within the industry. This is achieved by excluding product-level data from the scope of the disclosure, based on the feedback received during the consultation process. Any breach of the provisions of the APRA Act or the Collection of Data Act, including unauthorised disclosure of confidential information, could lead to civil or criminal consequences. Section 56(2) of the APRA Act specifies that unauthorised disclosure of confidential information is an offence. The maximum penalty for this offence can include fines and imprisonment, though the exact penalties would depend on the specific circumstances of the breach. The determination aims to ensure that such breaches are avoided by clearly delineating which information is confidential and which is not, thus providing a clear legal framework for the disclosure of non-confidential data.

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Reporting & Disclosure Obligations
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